Children of Berk
by Saij McCloud
Summary: The line of dragon-riding Vikings continues with the children of the riders of Berk. Note: Not a sequel to Family Ties
1. Chapter 1

Sorry to disappoint you Family Ties fans, but Genesis and Titan will not be in this. But I hope you will enjoy this all the same

Chapter I

The sun had barely risen, over Berk, when the door to Hiccup's and Astrid's room banged open, and two small children came bounding in and hopped onto their bed, squealing excitedly. Hiccup sat up in bed, from the surprise of the noise, so fast, that he almost propelled himself off the end. The children laughed at their father's reaction. Astrid, still laying in the same position she had been sleeping, just smiled at her children. Toothless, who was asleep on the floor by the foot of Hiccup's side of the bed, awoke at the commotion, and bounced onto the bed, sending the children flying into the air. They shouted gleefully as they hovered for a moment, and landed back on the bed, now laughing harder than ever. "Whoa! Easy there, bud." Said Hiccup, patting Toothless on the head. "If the kids go 'splat' you're the one who has to clean it up."

"Hiccup!" Said Astrid, sitting up in bed. But the two children just giggled. "Come on, Daddy! It's time to get up!" Said Vetrarose, the eldest of the two. She started yanking on Hiccups arm to get him to move. Vetra's younger brother, Askle, nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!" He said. You promised you'd take us flying today!"

"Yeah. Well, I didn't mean at the crack of dawn." Said Hiccup, scratching his head. Vetra stood up on the bed, and climbed onto Toothless' back. "Look at me! I'm flying!" She said happily. Jealous, Askle too climbed onto Toothless' back. "Me too!" He said. Toothless started bucking playfully, causing the children to flip on his back. They laughed as they held tightly to keep on. "Hey, careful." Said Astrid. "Let's not start the day with another broken leg."

"It didn't break!" Vetra argued. "It just went 'snap!" Hiccup and Astrid both climbed out of bed, and walked towards the door. "Please, Daddy!" Askle whined as Toothless hopped off the bed with the children still on his back. "We never get to go flying!"

"We can go this afternoon." Said Hiccup opening the door that led outside. "Toothless and I have some things to do in the village first. "Aaaaawwwww!" Vetra and Askle whined in unison, sliding off of Toothless. "What are we supposed to do until then?" Said Vetra. Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know." He said. "Go sword-fight in the cove or something."

"Yaaaayy!" Vetra and Askle cheered, running out the door. "Wait!" Astrid called after them. "You forgot to eat you're- oh never mind." Hiccup chuckled. "They're a handful." He said. "Most five and six year-olds are." Said Astrid. "But, I don't like the idea of them playing in the cove by themselves."

"Ah, they'll be fine." Said Hiccup dismissively. "How much trouble can two toddlers get into?" Astrid glared at Hiccup. "You don't want me to answer that." She said. But Hiccup just smiled warmly, and embraced Astrid close. "They'll be fine." He said.

Down at the cove, Vetra was swinging her wooden sword wildly in front of her as she ran, Askle following close behind, shouting a squeaky battle-cry. "All fear the mighty Vetrarose!" Said Vetra, stepping one foot triumphantly on a rock. "Princess of Berk! Future leader of the Hairy Hooligans!"

"You can't lead the Hooligans!" Askle protested. "Only boys can lead."

"Nuh-uh!" Said Vetra, getting in Askle's face. "I'm the leader! I'm the oldest!"

"By ten months!" Askle argued. "You don't even know what ten months are!" Said Vetra. "Yeah, well I can find out." Said Askle. "But I'm the better fighter, so I should lead."

"No you're not!" Said Vetra. "I am!" She jabbed Askle in the chest with her sword. "Ow!" Said Askle, stumbling backwards. "It's on now, Vetra!" He ran at his sister, brandishing his own wooden-sword. The two children laughed as they swung their sword s at each other. There was a

loud cracking sound each time the swords collided. "Ha! I got you!" Said Askle, swinging his sword again. "No. You missed!" Said Vetra, ducking to avoid Askle's sword.

Vetra stopped swinging her sword as a strange noise met with her ears. "Ha!" Said Askle, seeing that Vetra had stopped. "Does that mean you give up?" But Vetra shushed him so she could hear better. "What's that?" She said. Askle could hear it too now. An odd noise, as if several people were whispering directly into their ears. Askle shivered at the sound. "I don't like it." He said. "It's scary." But however scary the whispering was, it was nothing compared to what happened next. The ground beneath the children's feet began to shake so violently, that both of them fell down. The ground began to crack around them, and suddenly burst open into a large hole in front of Askle and Vetra. A large Whispering-Death slid it's way out of the whole, and began to hover several feet in the air. Vetra screamed at the sight of the terrifying Dragon, and began to run in the opposite direction, Askle following closely. At the sound of the scream, the Whispering-Death screeched at the children, and shot sever long thick spines at them from his tail. They landed right in front of the children's path, penetrating the ground. Askle and Vetra screamed again, and turned to run the other way.

Back in the village, Toothless turned his head in the direction of the cove, as his sharp ears picked up the sounds of the children's screams. He gave a deep snarl, glaring at the trees in front of him. "Toothless?" Said Hiccup, who had not heard the screams, noticing his dragon's strange behavior. "What's wrong?" But Toothless didn't respond, but took off running through the trees towards the cove. "Toothless?!" Hiccup ran after him, but he was too fast, and was out of sight within a moment. "Hiccup, what's wrong?" Astrid came up next to Hiccup with her Nadder, Stormfly. "Toothless ran off." Said Hiccup. "I think there's trouble. We have to go after him." Astrid pulled Hiccup onto Stormfly before taking of to follow Toothless.

Vetra was running as fast as her short legs would allow. She had grabbed a hold of Askle's hand and was pulling him behind her. The Whispering-Death dove to the ground and began to dig underneath until he was out of sight. "Is it gone?" Said Askle quietly. But Vetra didn't have time to answer as the ground began to shake again. "Run, Askle! Run!" Vetra cried, continuing to run. "Over there!" She was pointing at a small space in the rocks, just large enough for them to squeeze through. Vetra crouched down and crawled inside. Askle bent down to follow, but at that moment, the Whispering-Death resurfaced, and had grabbed Askle by his leg, dragging him away from the hole. "Askle!" Vetra cried. But as the Whispering-Death burst through the ground, it causes several rocks to fall in front of the hole, trapping Vetra inside. Only a small space remained that Vetra used to peak out of to see what was happening. Askle screamed in pain and fear as the Whispering-Death continued to drag him in the dirt. He covered his face with his arms when the Whispering-Death finally let go of his leg. It screeched loudly at the defenseless little boy, opening its mouth wide to strike. The Whispering-Death was knocked aside as Toothless slammed into it. He roared loudly at the rouge dragon, putting himself between Askle and the Whispering-Death. Now enraged, the Whispering-Death dove at Toothless, ramming into him. Vetra watch the two dragons wrestling in the dirt from inside the barricade of rocks she was still trapped in. Askle didn't move. He was to terrified that the Whispering-Death might go after him again if he did. Toothless jumped on the Whispering-Death's back, and but down hard. It screeched loudly, grabbed Toothless with it's tail, and threw him off. Toothless crashed into a tree, which snapped from the force, and collapsed onto of him, knocking Toothless unconscious. "Toothless!" Askle shouted. The Whispering-Death turned back around to face him, barring his many rows of sharp, knife-like teeth at the boy. Askle got to his feet and tried running away, but if injured leg kept him from going to fast. The Whispering-Death readied another spine from his tail, and threw it at Askle. Vetra watched helplessly as the spine hit Askle in the back, and he fell to the ground, not moving. Roaring triumphantly, the Whispering-Death vanished into the ground again. After a moment of the ground trembling, all was silent, and the rouge dragon was nowhere to be found.

Now entering the cove, Hiccup jumped off of Stormfly before she touched down. He surveyed the area. All that could be seen were several large holes in the ground, large enough for even a dragon to fit comfortably in. "Something definitely happened here." He said as Astrid climbed off of Stormfly. "Those are Whispering-Death holes. But where is Toothless?"

"Hiccup, where are the kids?" Said Astrid in a slightly panicked voice. She and Hiccup split up and began searching, calling out for Vetra and Askle to come out. Hiccup laid eyes on the tree with Toothless buried beneath. He ran over and threw several of the broken branches off of him. Toothless stood up and shook himself. "Hey, bud." Said Hiccup, patting Toothless on the head. "!What happened here?" Toothless just moaned and licked Hiccup's face. "Where are the kids?" Said Hiccup, now getting worried. Then, Hiccup hear a quiet noise coming from a pile of rocks. It sounded like a squirrel squeaking, but he doubted it. He rushed over and started to remove the rocks from the pile until Vetra was visible. Hiccup the pulled her out of the hole, and embraced her tight. "Oh, thank Odin you're alright." He said while Vetra whimpered and sobbed in his shirt. "Is Askle in there too?" Vetra didn't answer, but kept whimpering, and was now trembling. "Vetra." Said Hiccup, looking at Vetra. "Where is your brother?" Vetra still didn't answer. Hiccup stood up and continued searching. Astrid came up beside him, panting slightly. "I found Vetra." Hiccup said to her. "But I can't find Askle."

"We'll find him, Hiccup." Said Astrid reassuringly. She walked over and picked up Vetra. Toothless was sniffing the ground enthusiastically, following a scent. Hiccup and Astrid followed Toothless until he came to a mass on the ground and started to nudge it gently. Hiccup and Astrid walked up to it. Astrid gave a hair-raising scream as she realized that it was Askle lying in the dirt, not breathing. Hiccup thought the world might explode. His body went numb, and he fell to his knees in front of his son's body. Astrid began to sob loudly as she dropped to the ground and grabbed Askle, holding him tightly, refusing to let go. Vetra, still trembling, watched her parents hold each other, and her brother, both sobbing. Toothless went up to Vetra and nudged her lovingly. Vetra hugged the dragon as tears fell fast down her cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

I love waking up in the morning, checking my email, and finding a review from someone, eager for more of my work. It inspires me to continue on. Anyway, here is chapter 2!

Chapter II: Ten years later

Vetrarose was running through the trees towards Berk, a large black dragon in close pursuit, running on foot. She thought to herself, that if she made it back to the village, she just might have a chance. She jumped over a rock laying in her path, and dove into a somersault before continuing to run from the dragon. She could hear him panting loudly behind her as it drew closer. Vetra then jumped up to reach a tree branch, grunted loudly, and swung herself forward a distance. The village of Berk was finally in sight. Vetra continued to run for the clearing where the many houses stood, knowing that safety was only a few feet away. The dragon behind Vetra leapt forward, and pounced Vetra, knocking her into the dirt. Vetra began to breathe heavily as she came nose-to-nose with the great dragon. Toothless began to lick every inch of Vetra he could reach. She sputtered and gagged as she tried to push Toothless off of her. "Okay okay! You win!" She said, covering her face. "Get off me, you great brute!" Toothless gave a throaty laugh as Vetra got to her feet and shook herself off. "Ugh! I hate when you do that!" She said. Vetra had inherited her mother's eyes, but had her father's red hair, which she had shoulder-length, but a thin braid that was several inches longer. She looked to see how close she had gotten to the village. "Dang!" She said "I almost made it that time!" She shrugged, and turned back to Toothless. "On the upside, I'm getting faster." She said to him "Or maybe you're getting slower in your old age." Toothless glared at Vetra before swinging his tail around to trip her. Vetra fell flat on her back with a loud grunt. "Oh, so that's the way it's going to be?" She said, sprawled in the dirt. She got back to her feet and jumped at Toothless, who rolled his eyes refusing to move. Vetra growled as she slammed her entire body futily into Toothless. Toothless allowed Vetra to foolishly attempt to push him over for a moment, before tipping forward, and falling on top of Vetra, who grunted in pain under the wait of the dragon. "Okay. You win again." She said in a muffled voice. Toothless got off of Vetra, who groaned softly. "Note to self." She said, getting to her feet. "Never give a NightFury attitude."

There came a whooshing sound from behind as a Typhoomerang touched down by Vetra and Toothless. Vetra's friend, Spikelout, son of Snotlout and Ruffnut, slid off of it's back. He was a tall, muscular boy dark hair like his father's, that he kept tied in a long ponytail behind his back. "Yo, Vetra!" Said Spike, slightly annoyed. "Where have you been? The race is about to begin and everyone is looking for you!"

"Is that today?" Vetra smacked herself on the head. "I completely spaced!" She quickly climbed on Toothless' back. "We'll, come on then." Said Spike, climbing back onto his Typhoomerang. "Spiral-wing and I will meet you at the ring. Spiral-wing began to spark and spin in a wide circle before taking off into the air. Toothless jumped up and followed Spiral-wing towards the village.

The crowd was cheering loudly as the anticipation of the dragon race began to build up. Vetra and Spike were preparing by putting their usual war paint on their faces and dragons. Vetra and Toothless were wearing red on their faces, and Vetra was currently drawing the Berk Dragon Academy crest on Toothless' wing. Spike was wearing blue, and painted Spiral-wing with violet. On the other side was Vetra's other two friends, Meathead, son of Fishlegs, and Lugnut, daughter of Tuffnut. Tuffnut was thin and tall, and had long scraggly blond hair, and a Viking's helmet. Meathead was the spitting-image of his father, a chubby Viking with short blonde hair, and rode a Gronkle named Firestone. Hiccup stood up from the bench he, Astrid, and his right-hand man, Gobber, were all sitting. He raised his hands above his head. At once the crowd's cheers ceased. "Welcome!" Hiccup called for the crowd to here. "To the first dragon race of the season!" There was a roar of excited cheers from the crowd. "Today's match will be thirteen laps around the village. And for this of you with poor memory, each sheep caught and place the assigned basket, is worth one point each. The final lap will be for the black sheep, worth ten points. The racer with the most points at the end of the game wins!" The crowd applauded. "Our racers today will be Vetrarose, on the back of our standing champion, Toothless the NightFury!" Vetra Jumped on Toothless' back and waved enthusiastically to her fans that screamed and cheered. "Also racing will be" Hiccup continued. "Spikelout, on the back of Spiral-wing, the Typhoomerang," Spike whooped and hollered at the the cheers from his fans. "Meathead, on the back of Firestone the Gronkle. And finally, Lugnut on the back Dorknob, the Changwing!" More applause. "Riders, mount your dragons!" The four riders did as Hiccup instructed. "Let's show them how it's done, Toothless." Said Vetra, as she placed her foot into Toothless' stirrup. Toothless nodded, smiling a toothy grin at Vetra. "At the sound of Gobber's horn," Said Hiccup. "Let the race begin!" Robber blew into a large wooden horn. At the sound of the horn, the for teenagers and their dragons took off into the air, the crowd going wild.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III:

Vetra and Toothless were flying at top speed, Spikelout and Meathead where following close behind, but Lugnut was nowhere to be found. Everyone was surveying the area argue them for any signs of a stray sheep. "There!" Vetra point to the ground, where a single sheep was running away from the crazed Viking teens. "Dive, Toothless! Dive!" She adjusted Toothless' tail, so he spun around, and began to dive straight for the sheep, Spike and Meathead following, determined to get there first. As Vetra drew closer to the sheep, she adjusted Toothless' tail, so he hovered right above the ground. Vetra outstretched her arms, preparing to grab the sheep, now only inches away. Vetra was smacked by an invisible force, nearly knocking her off of Toothless. She shook her head to refocus herself from the blow, and saw that the sheep was now hovering in midair, bleating in panic. "Lugnut!" Said Vetra angrily. "No fair playing dirty!" Dorknob became visible again, hovering slightly above Vetra and Toothless, laughing. "Your daddy never saw anything about camouflage!" She said. She swooped around and continued to fly away, the sheep clutched in her arms. Vetra growled, annoyed. "After her, Toothless!" She said. Toothless flew after Lugnut, but she was too far away. Within a minute Lugnut had thrown the sheep into her basket, making the first score. The creation went nuts. "And the first score goes to Lugnut!" Said Hiccup, applauding politely. "And now on to the second lap!" Vetra swore, slamming hand on her saddle. "Aw, don't get testy, Vetra!" Said Spikelout, flying up next to Vetra and Toothless. "It's only the first lap." Vetra grinned. "Good point." She said. "Twelve more chances to dominate!" They and Meathead flew off to catch up with Lugnut.

"By the way, Gobber." Said as the race progressed. "I've been meaning to ask how the hunt is going." Gobber waited to answer, as the secession sheep was spotted, and the racers had moved in. Spikelout had caught the sheep by turning himself upside down, hanging off of Spiral-wing's underbelly by his legs, and grabbing the sheep with both hands. "Aw, yes. The hunt." Saw Gobber as Spikelout scored. "Our scouts last saw the Whispering-Death by the eastern beaches. They believe it's heading for Break-neck bog." Vetra had just scored her first goal, causing the crowd to shout and cheer so loudly, that no one could here each other speak. Hiccup paused to applaud for his daughter with Astrid and the rest of the village before continuing his conversation with Gobber. "If we catch that monster before it reaches Break-neck, we might have a chance at finally putting an end to this." He said to Gobber. "Aye." Gobber agreed. "This thing has been on a rampage for far too long." The crowd cheered again as yet another sheep was scored by Vetra and Toothless. "Alright!" Said Hiccup, addressing the crowd. "That's four for Spikelout, Vetra follows closely with three, Lugnut two, and none for Meathead!" Meathead's fans booed and jeered. "I agree." Hiccup continued. "If I hadn't let that thing go, this never would have happened! Toothless and I should have put an end to it that day!"

"Ah! You were just a boy." Said Gobber in Hiccup's defence. "How where you to know that it was a blood-thirsty maniac that would come back one day to bite you on the-" Gobber stopped at the glare Hiccup gave him. "I know. I know." He said. "I'm not helping." Hiccup sighed deeply, sinking into the back-rest of the bench. "That thing still haunts Vetra." He said. "Though, she'd never admit it." Astrid had heard the conversation between Hiccup and Gobber. "Let's not talk about that right now." She said to them. "Let's try to enjoy the race." Hiccup nodded, agreeing. "She's right." He said as Lugnut made yet another score. "This is not the time."

Toothless was flying as fast as he could toward yet another sheep, running as fast as it's tiny feet would allow away from the racers. From behind her, Meathead and Firestone came flapping along, trying to pass Toothless. "Come on, boy!"' Meathead was saying encouragingly to the exhausted dragon. "We can do this!" Firestone flew downward low enough for Meathead to scoop up the sheep. The Meathead supporters cheered and shouted for the two to keep going. "Whoo-hoo!" Meathead cheered as he and Firestone continued to flap slowly towards their basket. "Shouldn't we go after them?" Suggested Spikelout, flying up beside Vetra again. "Nah!" She answered with a Chuckle. "This is entertaining to watch." After about a minute, Meathead and Firestone had made their first goal. Spikelout and Vetra applauded, laughing at what they had just witnessed. "We did it!" Meathead shouted. "Out first goal!" Vetra and Spikelout flew after Meathead again. "Where's Lugnut?" Spike asked after a moment. Vetra didn't answer right away. After a moment, she said "Just follow the floating sheep!" For indeed she did see a sheep flying at top speed with no support towards their baskets. "Not very stealthy." Said Spikelout, as he and Vetra flew after Lugnut. "No, but she is improving." Said Vetra. Spikelout flew above the floating sheep. While Vetra flew under. Both were catching up. Dorknob became visible again, showing Lugnut with the sheep in her arms. "Back off. Spikelout!" She snapped, looking overhead. "This is MY sheep!" She hadn't seen Vetra at all. She adjusted Toothless' tail, and they both began to fly upward. While Lugnut was distracted, Vetra snatched the sheep out of Lugnut's arms. "Payback!" Vetra whooped as she and Toothless flew away. Lugnut growled. "Give me back my sheep!" She wined. But a minute later, Vetra had scored, tying her with Spikelout. "Alright, Gobber." Said Hiccup in the stands. "It's time."

"You got it, chief." Gobber answered. He blew into his horn again and shouted "Last lap!" For all to hear.

"Here we go!" Said Vetra. "It all comes down to this. We win it all, or we lose it all." Spikelout for up beside Vetra and Toothless. "We'll, whatever does happen." He said to her. "Let's make it between you and me. Can't let the others win!" Vetra knew he ment it all in fun. "You got it!" She said. The two friends high-dived before flying off.

Gobber placed the black sheep in the usual launcher and locked the trigger into place. "See ya later, old chum." He told the sheep before pulling the trigger. The sheep shot into the air with a loud, drawn out "BAAAAAA!" Of surprise. Seeing the sheep get launched, the four racers flew after it, all determined to catch it before the others. "Come on, Toothless!" Vetra shouted. "They're gaining on us!" The sheep flew higher into the air, over the racers head. Grinning up at the sheep, Vetra locked Toothless' tail in place before standing on his back. "You ready?" She asked him. Toothless nodded at Vetra. "Fire!" Toothless used his tail to throw Vetra into the air. The crowd gasped as Vetra went higher and higher, until, "Gotcha!" She grabbed the black sheep in her arms. The crowd cheered crazily. "Yes!" Said Hiccup, jumping off the bench. "That's my girl!" But Vetra suddenly realized that Toothless was no longer under her, she had been propelled too far forward. She began to plummet back down to the ground. "The crowd screamed and everyone was suddenly out of the seats trying see what was happening. Vetra held tightly too the sheep in her arms, her eyes shut, refusing to look at the ground looming ever closer. "Oh my gods!" Astrid shouted clutching her face. "Somebody do something!" Vetra was only a few feet away from the ground now. She suddenly felted a blow to her stomach, and a swoosh of air. The crowd was cheering louder than ever. Vetra opened her eyes to see that Toothless had caught her just in the nick of time, and was now flying her over to the scoring baskets. "Well, that's cutting it a bit close." She said, sitting upright in her saddle. Hiccup gave a deep sigh of relief, practically melting back onto the bench. "Oh, thank Odin." Said Astrid, breathing heavily. "Whoo! I think I soiled myself." Said Gobber, clutching his heart. Toothless flew straight for the score basket, where Vetra threw the sheep in with the rest of hers. The crowd roared with thunderous applause as Vetra stood on Toothless' back and threw her hands into the air. Toothless shot sever plasma balls into the sky. "Vetrarose wins!" Hiccup shouted a little too excitedly. "Ha ha! Like father like daughter!" Astrid glared at him. "Uh, and mother." Hiccup added.


	4. Chapter 4

It's really hard to have a full-time job, and be a fan fiction author. Most of the time you just want to sleep. I might only update once a week instead. Sorry everyone.

Chapter IV:

Vetra, Spikelout, Meathead, and Lugnut, all landed their dragons, all chattering excitedly over the match. "Whoo!" Spikelout shouted, full of adrenalin, throwing his hands in the air. "What a rush! We came close, but Vetra is still the champ of the group." He, Lugnut, and Meathead cheered for Vetra, who waved away Spikelout's remark. "It's nothing." She said, modestly. "It's all in the NightFury." She scratched Toothless under the chin, who smiled dreamily at her. "Man! I wish I could've inherited a NightFury." Said Meathead, jealous. Firestone growled at Meathead. "Uh, nothing against you, of course, Fire." Meathead said to him, a little nervously, patting Firestone on the head. Lugnut scoffed. "I don't." She said. "I bet Toothless wishes he could be stealthy, like a Changewing." She indicated Dorknob. "Changewings are the best."

"Oh?" Said Vetra, hands on hips. "Is that why you named him a dork?"

"I was having a bad day!" Said Lugnut, defensively.

"Hey, Vetra, where's your dad going in such a hurry?" Said Spikelout, watching Hiccup and Gobber walk away from the stands at a brisk trot. "He didn't even congratulate you." Vetra shrugged. "Not really sure." She said as her dad vanished. "He's been acting kind of strange lately, but won't tell me what's wrong." She gave a deep sigh. "You know, when my dad is in a bad mood." Lugnut Implied. "He likes to bang his head against rocks. Maybe Hiccup should try doing that." Vetra slowly turned her head to look at Lugnut with one eyebrow raised. "Not helping, Lugnut." Said Spikelout, who was slightly embarrassed over his mother and uncle's peculiar behavior. "Listen, Vetra." He said, putting a hand on Vetra's shoulder. "He's just a rough time. You know how he gets this time of year." Vetra nodded. "It's the exact same way I get." She climbed onto Toothless. "I'll talk to you guys later." She said before Toothless jumped into the air, and the two of them took off. "What so significant about this time of year?" Meathead asked, watching Vetra and Toothless until they were nothing but a black dot. "You seriously don't know?" Said Spikelout, looking at Meathead in amazement. Meathead just shrugged. Spikelout looked at Lugnut for support, but she shook her head, not knowing herself. Spikelout sighed before saying. "This marks tens years since Vetra's brother died."

Toothless landed in front of a large rock formation, and Vetra slid off. The two of them often came to this lost when wanting to escape the pangs and stress of Berk. Vetra crouched down, and entered a small opening at the base of the rock. Toothless followed, but got stuck. He wiggled and squirmed for a moment, trying to free himself. "Suck in your gut!" Said Vetra, though Toothless didn't really have a gut. She grabbed a hold of him, and pulled as hard as she could. After a moment, Toothless loosened and the two toppled into the cave. "Well, that used to be easier." Said Vetra, picking herself off the ground, and dusting herself off. She then picked up the lamp that she kept by the mouth of the cave. Toothless lit it with a small plasma shot, bathing the cave in a soft, golden glow. "Thanks, bud." Said Vetra gratefully. It was a small cave, just large enough for a girl and her dragon to get comfortable. There was a small pond with fish that Vetra had dug herself years ago for Toothless. Though she had originally only put a few fish in there, there was now a significant number of variously sized fish for Toothless to choose from. On the other side was where Vetra spent most of her time. There were blankets, and bundles of bread that Vetra had made herself. It almost looked like an emergency bunker. There were no pillows though, as Toothless usually had that job. "You hungry?" Vetra asked. Toothless smacked his lips in response. Vetra walked over to the pond, and bent down, her hand suspended in midair. After a moment, Vetra brought her hand down into the water. With a small splash, a couple of the fish came fly out of the water, and lane in Toothless' open mouth. Toothless licked his lips appreciatively. Vetra then walked over to her pile of blankets, unwrapped one of her bundles to reveal a particularly delicious-looking piece of bread, sat down, and tore off a piece of the bread. There, she quietly thought to herself.

It was dark, the very same night as Askle's death. All of Berk had gathered together at the beach. A boat had been pushed out into the ocean with the young child inside, wrapped in a white cloth, his wooden sword lain next to him. Vetra had calmed down and was no longer trembling, but, like so many of the other Vikings, her eyes were swimming in tears. For one so young to have perished in such a manner was unthinkable, and heartbreaking. But for Vetra, it was different. In her heart she felt anger, not at the horrible monster, but at herself. She should have pushed Askle into the hole first. As the older sister, it was her job to protect her little brother, and she failed. Miserably. As she held Gobber's hand, her parents holding each other, next to her, as they wept, she listened to his speech to welcome the child into the afterlife. She wondered if the Gods would permit Askle to enter Valhalla, even though he was not yet a warrior. At the end of Gobber's speech, Hiccup had knocked an arrow onto his bow, lit it with a flame, then shot it out towards the boat. Gobber had let go of Vetra's hand so he too could shoot a flaming arrow out into the boat. He, and all of the other Vikings mimicked Hiccup. Even the dragons, lead of course but Toothless, fired brilliant, multi-colored balls of fire onto the boat, until it was a lit respectfully for the child. Vetra watched each arrow and fireball in amazement. "Maybe the Gods will grant him peace." She thought to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V:

Vetra shook herself out of her thoughts as she noticed the light, at the entrance to her cave had started to thin out and fade away. A couple of hours had passed with ease. She got to her feet with a groan, and dusted herself off. Toothless, who had been napping in a corner by the pond, opened his eye slightly as Vetra stood up. Toothless stretched, yawning widely, and toothlessly. Vetra pat him gently on the head, causing him to smile at her. "We should get going before Dad sends in the Calvary." She said to him. The two of them squeezed their way back out of the cave. Vetra then climbed onto Toothless, who flew back towards Berk.

It was dark now, and quiet inside Hiccup's house. He had been sitting in front of the fire, thinking deeply, ever since he had returned from the race. He kept flashing back to the time he had encountered the Whispering-Death. What happened to it and Toothless to make them hate each other so much? He wondered if would have ever returned to Berk if there was no conflict. Would Askle still be alive? "None of it matters now." Hiccup thought to himself. "What matters is that they stop this unruly monster before it hurts anyone else. The door opened from outside. Vetra walked inside the house, humming quietly to herself. Toothless followed in after her before Vetra closed the door. "Hey, Dad." She said to Hiccup, pulling off her coat, and throwing it onto a chair by the table. "We're home. Missed you after the race. Toothless and I needed some air." Hiccup said nothing, but continued his stare at the fire. "Dad?" Said Vetra, looking concerned at Hiccup. "Helloo? Earth to Dragon Master." Hiccup blinked and turned his head to look at Vetra. "I'm sorry, honey." He said to her. "Did you say something?" Toothless walked up to Hiccup, and nudged him kindly. Hiccup patted Toothless on the head absent mindedly. Vetra raised an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?" She said. "You've been acting weird lately." Hiccup sighed deeply, and stood up from his chair. "I'm fine." He said. "Just tired. Been a long day." Vetra shrugged, unconvinced. "Anyway, congratulations on the race, Vetra. You did great."

But before Vetra could answer, the door opened again, and Gobber and Astrid walked inside. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Gobber." Said Vetra, acknowledging their presence. "Could you go outside for a moment, Lass?" Said Gobber. "We need to talk to your father." Vetra scoffed why do I have to leave?" She said. "Vetra, do as you're told." Said Astrid, firmly. "Just go chase some Terrible Terrors or something." Vetra rolled her eyes and shuffled towards the door. She made a soft whistling sound, and Toothless left Hiccup's side and followed her out the door.

"Psh!" Said Vetra, closing the door behind her. "Chase Terrible Terrors. What do I look like? A child? I don't chase Terrors." She turned back towards the house. "They can't keep me out." She said. " , Toothless." They both ran around to the back end of the house. Vetra then hopped onto Toothless' back, who hopped up into the window on the upper floor. Once inside, both of them crept to the edge of the stairs and listened in on the adults' conversation. "We can't wait any longer." Hiccup was saying. "If gets any closer to Berk, more people are going to get hurt."

"I understand how you feel, Hiccup." Said Astrid, "But going out and-"

"No Astrid, you DON'T understand." Hiccup interrupted. "We all know that it was ME who allowed that thing to continue to destroy Berk. I let it live!"

"Oi. Not this again." Said Gobber. "You've really got to let that go, lad."

"How can I, Gobber!" Said Hiccup. "It killed my son! Or don't you remember that?" Vetra felt a stinging sensation in the back of her head. They were talking Askle's death? But why? No one had EVER brought it up before now. "I can't let anything like that happen again!" Hiccup continued. Why was Hiccup acting like it was his fault? Vetra thought he wasn't even there. She wanted answers. She stood up and walked down the stairs towards the adults. "What do you mean, Dad?" She said. The others turned towards her, all surprised. "Vetra!" Astrid hissed. "What in Odin's name are you-"

"I need to know!" Said Vetra angrily. "What is going on?!" There was a pause while no one spoke. Finally, Hiccup said "It's alright, Astrid. She has a right to know." Astrid looked at Hiccup thunder-stricken, but Hiccup ignored her. "Is this about the Whispering-Death?" Vetra asked. Hiccup nodded. "The first time we encountered it, Vetra, I was about your age." He said.

He told her the story of the first Whispering-Death attack. Discovering the grudge between it and Toothless. How Toothless was determine to defeat it and kill it. "But I wouldn't let him." He continued. "When it left. I thought it wouldn't return. I was wrong. We have calculated that it returns consistently each year and attacks again. We haven't been able to stop it. It been elusive."

Vetra felt numb. "I- I don't believe this." She said. "Are you telling me, that in allowing that thing to live, you caused all of those years of havoc from that monster? YOU are responsible for Askle's death?!"

"Vetra!" Said Astrid angrily. "No, Mom!" Said Vetra, almost shouting. "It all makes sense! If Dad didn't let that thing live, Askle would still alive today! None of this would have ever happened!" She glared angrily at Hiccup. "It was all YOUR fault!" She snapped at him, pointing a finger. "And hear I was thinking I was to blame! I spent my whole life hating myself for not protecting him, when the whole time it was YOU!" Hiccup didn't know what to say. "I HATE YOU!" Vetra screamed, unable to contain her anger. Hiccup felt a sharp pain in his heart at Vetra's last words. But before anyone could say anything else, Vetra ran towards the door. Toothless made to follow, but Vetra stopped him. "No, Toothless!" She snapped. "You stay!" Toothless hummed sadly, backing up beside Hiccup, who pat him to comfort him. As Vetra swung open the door, she revealed that Spikelout had been getting ready to knock on the door. But Vetra shoved him out of the way as she ran out of the house. "Uh.." Said Spikelout, watching Vetra run. "Is this a bad time?" He turned to look at the three adults. Hiccup sighed, and turned to walk up stairs with Toothless. "It's okay, Spikelout." Said Astrid. "Vetra's just just going through a hard time. Perhaps you could talk to her?" Spikelout shrugged. "I'm not sure how helpful I could be." He said. "But I could try." He turned, and went after Vetra.

Vetra ran without the slightest comprehension of where she was going. Her eyes filled with tears, making it difficult to see. Finally she stopped in a clearing, about a mile away from the village, when she felt her lungs couldn't take it anymore. She collapsed to the ground, and sobbed hard in the dirt. The wind was blowing around her, so there was a soft whistling sound around her. Between her son's, and the wind, Vetra almost couldn't hear the strange whistling sound slowly approaching her position. As it grew closer and louder, Vetra stopped, and slowly got to her feet. She knew that sound. She remembered hearing when she was younger. Realizing just what it was, a wave of shock washed over Vetra, freezing her where she stood. The ground began to tremble, but still, Vetra could not move. As the ground opened up behind Vetra, causing several trees to sink into the dirt, the Whispering-Death once again emerged. Vetra shot around, to face the dragon. It roared at her, and dove back into the dirt. Vetra knew that it would come back up closer to where she stood, but still, she could not move.

As Spikelout walked to catch up with Vetra, he was muttering quietly to himself about what he might say to her. Probably nothing her parents didn't already say to her. He hated playing mediator. He wasn't even good at it. But it seemed like he had to do it all the time, on his parents mostly. Though Snotlout and Tuffnut loved each other, they were two entirely different people, ergo, they butted heads a lot. Sometimes literally. But as Spikelout walked, muttering quietly to himself, her heard a loud scream up ahead. "Vetra?"!" He called out in the direction the scream had come from. There was no answer, but a second scream, louder than than the first pierced the night silence. "Vetra!" Spikelout called out again. He began to run as fast as he could towards the commotion.

Once he reached the clearing, Spikelout could see Vetra laying in the dirt, the ground around being tossed into the air by an unknown source. Spikelout continued to run to aid Vetra, but was suddenly knocked to the ground as the Whispering-Death popped out of the ground behind him. It screeched as him, shooting several spines out of his tail in Spikelout's position. Spikelout rolled out of reach, picked up one of the abandoned spines, and, with a loud grunt, threw it back at the Whispering-Death. It his him right above the left eye, causing him to shriek in pain, and disappear into the ground again. "Vetra! Get up!" Spikelout shouted. But Vetra was still unable to move. She was sprawled in three dirt, breathing heavily, to terrified to move. Spikelout got to his feet and ran towards her, but once again the ground began to tremble. Around where Vetra played began to sink into the Earth. There was nothing Spikelout could do, but watch as his friend disappeared into the hole below with another loud scream.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI:

Spikelout coughed, waving his hands in front of his face in an attempt to fan away the dust. It was now quiet. Nothing could be heard. Not Vetra, nor the Whispering-Death. "Vetra?" Spikelout ran over to the crater in the ground where Vetra had vanished. He peered into the hole. Nothing could be seen. Only rubble remained. "Spikelout?" Spikelout heard his name, not from the crater, but from behind. He turned to see Hiccup, flying atop Toothless, accompanied by Lugnut, Meathead and Spiral-wing. "Wow. What happened here." Said Lugnut amused, sliding off of Dorknob's back. "Here i thought my DAD was destructive. You sure live up to the family name, Spikelout."

"I didn't do this!" Said Spikelout angrily. Hiccup jumped off of Toothless. "Where's Vetra?" He asked Spikelout, who scratched his head nervously. "Well sir, I'm not exactly sure." He said, peering into the hole again. Hiccup shoved Spikelout out of the way to look into the hole himself. "Vetra's in there?" He asked. "Do I even want to know what happened?"

"All I know is that there was this Whispering-Death, and Vetra was-"

"Whispering-Death?!" Hiccup interrupted. He jumped into a ledge leading into the crater. "Come on! We're going in there after them!" Toothless leapt in after him. "You're not serious, are you?" Said Meathead, as Spikelout climbed on Spiral-wing's back. "We want to go AFTER the dragon that make this hole with it's teeth?"

"Uh, duh!" Said Lugnut with a grin. "My father always told me to seek out the danger. 'danger good. Danger's your friend.' He always says."

"Not helping, Lugnut." Said Spikelout. Meathead whimpered. "That's my daughter down there!" Said Hiccup, climbing on Toothless' back. "I'm not leaving her down there! Stay or come if you want, Meathead. But this is exactly what you've been training for at the academy." Toothless leapt off the ledge, down, deeper into the hole, and out of site. "He's right, you know." Said Spikelout to the other two. "We were taught to NEVER leave a comrade behind. Man, woman or dragon."

"Uh-oh. He's lecturing." Lugnut with a chuckle. "And besides." Spikelout continued, not hearing Lugnut. "Vetra's our friend. We have to help her." Spiral-wing followed Toothless down the crater, and she and Spikelout too vanished. Lugnut cleared her throat. "Okay." She said awkwardly. "That was- uh- some how motivating. I guess." Meathead whimpered again. "My dad always told me not to get on a boulder-class dragon's bad side." He said. "Or any dragons bad side for that matter."

"Uh-huh. And do you know what else your dad says?" Said Lugnut. "Stop wining! Where's your sense of adventure?" She climbed on Dorknob's back, then with a loud, whooping battle cry, the two of them disappeared into the hole. Meathead stared down into the hole as he tried to build up his courage to follow. Firestone nudged him in the back encouragingly. Meathead smiled before giving him a big hug. "You're right, Firestone." He said "The son of Fishlegs, and the son of Meatlug do NOT back down!" He jumped on Firestone's back who jumped into the hole. "Here we go! AAAAAHHHH!" Meathead shrieked.

Vetra stirred feebly as she regained consciousness. She groaned, rubbing her head. Around her was so dark, she almost thought she hadn't opened her eyes. She felt a stinging sensation in her upper left arm. She clutched it, and felt the sticky warmth of blood. She surveyed the area around futiley hoping to find a way out of the cave she was trapped in. "Great." She thought to herself, grumpily. "The one time I don't have a dragon. And the one time I could actually use one!" She got to her feet, and, with her uninjured hand suspended in front of her, slowly began to walk forward. She had only walked a couple of steps though, when her hand touch a rock formation. She then continued to walk beside it, brushing her hand up against it.

Vetra walked on for a short while, walking forward for a while keeping hand up against, when she hear the familiar, dreaded sound from behind her. She swung her head around in the direction of the whisper, but it was so dark, that she couldn't see where it was. The ground began to rumble, and Vetra could hear the rocks, from the previous quake, clattering around her. Without thinking, she began to run away from the approaching whisper, but after a moment, collided with the other wall, and collapsed. The rumbling grew louder, and closer, but Vetra was in such a daze now, that she couldn't move. Soon, Vetra could see the silhouette of several rows of razor-sharp teeth only inches away from her face. She screamed, trembling violently, to afraid to move.

There was a flash of blue, and a loud bang. The Whispering-Death recoiled away from Vetra as a plasma blast from Toothless hit it in the face. As the four dragons and their riders dove at full speed at it, the Whispering-Death advanced on them instead, leaving Vetra in the dirt, still too frightened to move. "Spike, you, Meathead and Lugnut distract the Whispering-Death!" Said Hiccup as he rolled out of the Whispering-Death's path. "I'm going going after Vetra!" Spikelout and the others obeyed, keeping the Whispering-Death's focus on them with shots of fire, lava and acid, while Toothless dove after Vetra. The Whispering-Death roared with rage, trying to fight off the dragons. It made a snap at Dorknob, who vanished into thin air, then reappeared on the other side and shot more acid in it's face. It roared in pain. Toothless landed in front of Vetera, who was watching the battle above as a flash of flames would temporarily make it visible for her. "Vetra! Give me your hand!" Said Hiccup loud enough for Vetra to hear over the ruckus above, extending his hand to her. Vetra turned her head to her father, but still did not move. "Come on!" Shouted Hiccup. "We gotta go!" Vetra looked at Hiccup's hand for another moment, before took it with her own shaky hand. Hiccup pulled Vetra onto Toothless' back, who took off back into the air. "Alright, let's go!" Hiccup called to the others. "Aw! So soon?!" Said Spikelout sarcastically. He had failed to dodge one of the Whispering-Death's spines, and had just yanked it angrily out of his upper left arm. Spiral-wing, Dorknob, and Firestone retreated after Toothless, leaving the Whispering-Death in the crater, roaring after them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII:  
The moon was now set in the very center of the sky, shining brightly over Berk. The tiny village was quiet, and the air was icy. The village looked almost completely deserted, except for the small group of people outside of Hiccup's home. Toothless was the only dragon that had not been sent to the dragon stables for the night. He and Hiccup were pacing back and forth in front of the door, waiting for it to open. Astrid had shooed everyone out, when they had returned with Vetra, and was tending to her while the others waited outside. Meathead, who was sitting on a bucket next to the bench that Lugnut and Spikelout were sitting, was watching Hiccup's pacing, following his movements with his tiny eyes. "Ouch!" Snapped Spikelout, smacking Lugnut's hand, who was busy stitching the wound on Spikelout's arm. "Could you possibly be a little rougher, Lugnut?! You haven't ripped the stitches yet!" Lugnut raised an eyebrow. "You mean you actually want me to?" She asked, knowing full well what Spikelout meant. Spikelout groaned. "How much longer do we have to wait?" He asked Hiccup. "They've been in there forever!" Hiccup said nothing at first. Then he stopped pacing, causing Toothless to bump into him, then said "Vetra just needs some time to recover. They'll let us in when she's ready." Meathead gave a loud, wide yawn, stretching his arms. "My, it's late." He said, getting to his feet. "Maybe we should-" He suddenly dropped face first, into the dirt at Hiccup's feet, and began to snore loudly. Hiccup, Toothless and Lugnut starred silently at the unconscious Meathead, each with eyebrows raised. "Ah, don't mind him." Said Spikelout,  
standing up as Lugnut finished with his arm. "That sometimes happens when it's passed his bedtime."  
"Okay." Said Hiccup slowly, still looking at Meathead in the dirt. "That's a new one."  
The door finally opened, causing everyone still conscious to jump as Astrid stepped outside. "So?" Said Spikelout eagerly. "How is she?"  
"Well." Astrid began. "I bandaged her head and her hand, but she hasn't said a word since you brought her back." She turned to face Hiccup. "Hiccup, I'm worried about her." She said. Hiccup took both of Astrid's "Let me try and talk to her." He said. Astrid sighed. "Alright." She said. "You can try. I'll wait out here." Hiccup and Toothless entered the house. They immediately felt the heat of a fire burning in the fireplace. It felt nice after standing outside in the cold for an hour. They walked up the stairs to Vetra's room, the same place Hiccup himself used to sleep when he was Vetra's age. Hiccup saw Vetra sitting up in her bed, the covers over her lower half. She had a thick turban of bandages on her head. She was looking down at her blankets, while absent-mindedly petting Cinder, her pet crimson-colored Terrible Terror, who was laying in her lap, fast asleep. He have a soft purr with each exhale. She did not look up when she noticed her father, but continued to star determinedly at her woolen blankets. Hiccup Sat at the foot of Vetra's bed, while Toothless bounced over the other side of the bed. He half climbed on the bed, so his front legs were on, and his back were still on the floor, and nudge Vetra's arm. Cinder awoke as the arm Toothless had nudge shoved him slightly, and he gave a soft hiss at Toothless, glaring at him. "How you feeling?" Hiccup asked softly. Vetra didn't answer, but was soothing Cinder's irritation by stroking him on the back. "It's been a pretty long day, hasn't it?" Hiccup continued with a slight chuckle. Vetra only sighed, tightly shutting her eyes. Hiccup cleared his throat. "Look, Vetra." He said. "I'm sorry for-" But Vetra interrupted him, speaking at last. Her voice was quiet and cracked, as if she had a bad cold. "No, Dad." She said, still looking down at Cinder. "I'm sorry. For what I said before. I didn't means it." Hiccup smiled. "I didn't think you did." He said. Vetra's eyes filled with tears. Toothless put his head in Vetra's lap to comfort her, much to Cinder's disapproval. "I can't believe I froze like that." Said Vetra. "What will they say at the academy?"  
"No one at the academy needs to know." Said Hiccup, patting Vetra's leg under the covers. Vetra wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Meathead, Lugnut and Spike know." She said. "And what kind of friends would they be if that held that against you?" Said Hiccup. "Vetra, you were six years old. That's a tender age to witness what you saw."  
"I think witnessing the death of your little brother is a lot for anyone to handle. No matter what age you are." Said Vetra. Hiccup nodded in agreement. "It wasn't your fault, Vetra." He said. I was nobody's fault." He stood up from the bed. "You get some sleep. And how about we take the day off from dragon training tomorrow and just get some rest?" Vetra shrugged. "Good night then." Hiccup went back down the stairs and left the room. Toothless gave Vetra a lick on the arm before following Hiccup out of the room. Cinder finally relaxed and snuggled back in Vetra's lap. Picking up the waxy-heap that had once been a candle resting on the nightstand next to Vetra's bed, she blew hard, extinguishing the flame. The dim flame bathing her room went out, leaving everything dark and blinding to the sight. Vetra sank into her bed with her arms around Cinder, who yawned, placing his head lovingly in her arms as they both to fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII:

The morning came frosty. The sky was covered in dark clouds, obscuring the sun, and threatening rain over Berk. Vetra had awoken several times throughout the night, causing Cinder topple out of the bed and onto the floor on a couple of occasions. She was now lying on her back, staring at the ceiling above her, Cinder asleep at her feet, purring slightly. Her head still hurt a lot, and her arm was throbbing. This did not make sleeping any easier. Even though it was still very early, and no one else was awake yet, Vetra rolled out of bed, placed her boots on her feet, crept down the stairs and out the front door. She walked quietly through the village with her arms wrapped around her body to warm herself. It was quite peaceful to wander the plaza before bustle of the other Vikings crowded it with their axes and wheel barrels filled with assortments of various items.

As Vetra walked on, she noticed smoke issuing from the blacksmith shop. Wondering who in Thor's name could be working at this wee hour, she hurried over to the shop. Once she reached it, she saw Hiccup busily beating a long metal rod between a hammer and an anvil, Toothless asleep at his feet. "You're up early." Said Vetra as she entered the shop. Hiccup stopped hammering his rod, and looked up. "So are you." He answered. "What are you doing out hear in this weather?" He picked up the rod with a pair of metal tongs, and dipped it into a barrel filled with water. As the hot metal made contact with the cold water, it hissed and bubbled, threatening to spill over the edge. "A question I was going to ask you." Said Vetra, watching Hiccup move over to his work bench with the rod. "Well, I've been working all night." He answered. "I can see that" Said Vetra. "On what?"

"A new tail for Toothless." Vetra raised an eyebrow. "Another one?" She said slightly exasperated. "You've made dozens of them. What does this one do that the others don't?" Hiccup smiled at her. "Well, glad you asked." He said, picking up the new tail he had indicated. Instead of the usual blood-red color that Hiccup normally used for Toothless' tail, this one was a dark, bluish gray, with gold around the edges. Vetra looked at it in amazement. "Wow." She said. "It sure is beautiful." Hiccup chuckled. "Oh, it's more than pretty, Vetra." He said. "It will enable Toothless to fly on his own." Vetra frowned. "But I thought he didn't like that." She said. "Ah." Said Hiccup, his smile widening. "That's a very good point. You see, we can still control it from the saddle. BUT, Thor's forbid, if for some reason, we were to be separated during flight, Toothless would still have control." Vetra's smile returned. "That's brilliant, Dad!" She said excited. Hiccup scratched the back of his head in modesty. Toothless awoke at that moment, and gave a wide, toothless yawn. "Perfect timing!" Said Hiccup, walking over, and strapping on his newly completed tail. "What do you say we take it for a field test?" Vetra shrugged. "I'm down!" She said as Hiccup attached a saddle to Toothless' back.

Within moments, Toothless had taken off, high in the sky, Hiccup and Vetra both aboard his back. Hiccup led, with Vetra behind him, her arms wrapped tightly around her father's waist to keep from falling off. The higher they flew, the more they whooped and laughed. As Toothless gained speed, Vetra allowed herself to be lift off of the saddle, so she would be temporarily suspended in midair. They flew on for a long time. None of them were in a hurry. Hiccup in particular was enjoying the peace of doing what he loved most with Vetra. He could not recall the last time they had spent any quality father-daughter time together and was in no rush to end it, even as the clouds grew darker, and thunder began to below around them. They came to a forest, after a while, so thick with trees, that the ground below them could not be seen. "How does this look?" Hiccup called to Vetra, bringing Toothless to hover just above the trees. "As good a spot as any!" Vetra replied, surveying the area around them. "Sounds good." Said Hiccup. "You ready for this, Toothless?" Toothless gave a "Do I have a choice?" Grumble, rolling his eyes. "Ready, Vetra?!" Hiccup unhooked his metal leg from the stirrup. "One, two, THREE!" Both Hiccup and Vetra rolled off of Toothless' back and landed on the branches of a tree. They both held their breath as they waited for something to happen. But Toothless did not plummet to the ground as he normally did without a rider. Instead he soared around the surrounding trees, causing the wind to pick up around them as he passed. Vetra and Hiccup screamed and cheered, jumping gleefully in the tree as they watched. "IT WORKS!" Vetra shouted, watching Toothless glide across the water, letting his wings break the surface softly. Hiccup was laughing, excited to see Toothless flying on his own.

After a few minutes, Toothless flew back to the tree Hiccup and Vetra were now climbing out of. They both ran over and gave Toothless a big squeezing hug, which he returned with licks for both of them. The Vetra and Hiccup embraced each other. Even though Vetra was now the same height as Hiccup, he still lifted her off the ground, and spun her through the air, both still laughing. "I can't believe you did it!" Said Vetra when Hiccup finally set her back down. "This changes everything!"

"Well." Said Hiccup, scratching Toothless vigorously behind the ears, much to Toothless' pleasure. "For the better I hope." Vetra giggled, wiping her eyes of tears. "Definitely." She said. Vetra hadn't felt this way in a long time. She hadn't seen Hiccup for more than a couple of minutes a day, in which he was usually a bit grumpy. But both were now smiling widely at each other hoping the moment would never end. It did not, however. Vetra and Hiccup jumped as they heard both of their names being called. They turned in the direction it had come from, and saw Meathead and Firestone flying high-speed towards them. Firestone did not have time to slow down and crashed in the dirt at their feet. Meathead was breathing heavily, gasping as he tried to speak. "Hiccup-" He said, speaking in between breaths. "Berk- Whisper-" He suddenly gave a dramatic, shrill gasp for air, and rolled off of Firestone's back onto the ground. Hiccup and Vetra stared at him for a moment, before Hiccup said "Does this happen often." Vetra nodded, still watching Meathead on the ground. "Oddly enough. Yes." She said. But she heard her name again as Spikelout and Lugnut caught up with them. "Oh, am I glad to see you!" Said Spikelout, sliding off of Spiral-wing's back and stepping over Meathead. "We've got big problems!"

"What kind of problems?" Said Hiccup. "Big!" Repeated Lugnut. "Huge! Monstrous!"

"Could you be anymore vague?" Said Vetra, annoyed. "What's the big problem?!"

"Okay get this." Said Lugnut. "We were on our morning patrol when we saw it."

"Whispering-Deaths!" Spikelout finished. "Hundreds of them! Headed straight for Berk!" Vetra thought she might faint. She could feel the color draining from her face. "How far out, Spikelout?" Hiccup urged. "Not far at all." Spikelout answered. "They were only five miles away when we saw them." Hiccup ran over and pulled Meathead to his feet, who was just as pale as Vetra, and looked as if he had just been clubbed over the head. "Come on!" Said Hiccup, now climbing onto Toothless. "Berk needs our help!" Spikelout, and Meathead both climbed back on their dragons, but Vetra was hesitant. "Are you going to be able to do this, Vetra?" Hiccup asked her. Vetra clinched her fists then said "I don't have a choice." Before climbing on Toothless herself. "They will need ALL of us." Hiccup smiled at her. "Good." He said. "Then let's go!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX:  
The rain finally began to fall. It started as a light sprinkle across Berk. The Vikings that inhabited the village had all awoken by now, and were busy with there daily routines, some harvesting crops, collecting eggs from their chickens, or milk from their yaks, or else wandering the plaza, engrossed in discussions on the latest gossip. It seemed like a day no different from any other, until the ground began to tremble. It started as a light shaking, gaining ferocity until the Vikings began to shake as well, all exclaiming in surprise at what was happening.  
The ground burst open, releasing hundreds of Whispering-Deaths into the sky. The Vikings screamed and scattered in all directions like cockroaches exposed to sunlight. The Whispering-Deaths chased the Vikings as if this were a sport, shooting bursts of fire at homes and huts and their long, sharp spines at the people. The Vikings began to fight back. Several had gotten a hold of their weapons, and were now throwing axes and maces at the dragon invaders. Some shot arrows, and others boulders from catapults. The Whispering-Deaths continued to come, burning and collapsing everything in their paths. As a group of Vikings fired yet a boulder from their catapult, a Whispering-Death evaded it by spinning sideways. The boulder crashed into the windmill, sending it crashing down.  
Gobber was running frantically away from the battlefield and towards the Dragon Academy, where he found Astrid atop Stormfly, the entire academy members behind her. Three dozen teenagers and their dragons, preparing to join the fight. "Oh, Astrid!" Gobber gasped, trying to catch his breath from the shock of the attack, and from running. "Thank Odin I found you! What are we going to do?! There's too many! And I can't find Hiccup or Vetra anywhere!"  
"You lead the others out of the village!" Astrid told Gobber, looking down on him from Stormfly. "We'll buy you time until Hiccup shows up!" Gobber nodded. "Aye." He said, turning to leave. "You got it." As Gobber left, Astrid prepared to take off. "DRAGON RIDERS!" She shouted to the students behind her. "TO BATTLE!" With war cries and whooping, the dragon riders flew off towards the invasion. Nadders, Monstrous Nightmares, Stormcutters, every species imaginable, and their riders, lead by Astrid. Like a freeway accident, dragons began to collide with the Whispering-Deaths, biting and clawing with roars unimaginably terrifying. Stormfly spat fire at one of the Whispering-Death, who met it with it's own, the swiped it's tail at her releasing several spines. Astrid didn't have time to move the spines were coming at them too fast. All she could do was shield herself, and wait. At the last moment, however, the spine exploded in midair as an equal number of plasma shots hit them from inside the clouds above. Astrid looked in the direction the blasts had come from, just as Toothless, Spiral-wing, Firestone, and Dorknob flew out of the clouds towards the fight. Spikelout and Lugnut were whooping as they flew, while Meathead grabbed ahold of Firestone tightly, doing his best to look brave and intimidating, but fell short of this, for in trying to look braver than he felt, he ended up just looking constipated. Vetra was determinately avoiding catching sight of the many Whispering-deaths circling around them. "We'll it's about time!" Said Astrid bring Stormfly to fly beside Toothless. "Thought you all had abandoned us."  
"Please!" Said Vetra, grinning at her mother. "Wouldn't miss this for the world!"  
"Astrid, you go and aid the other students to the North." Sad Hiccup. "We'll try and herd the Whispering-Deaths over there!" Astrid nodded and flew off to help her students. "Okay." Hiccup continued. We'll take the Whispering-deaths to the south and lead over to Astrid. We have to try and get them out of the village. "Got it, chief!" Said Spikelout with a mock salute as he, Lugnut and Meathead flew off. "What about me, Dad?" Asked Vetra, hoping that he had a different plan you, her that did not involve engaging her worst fear. "I need you Vetra," Hiccup said, turning to look at Vetra. "to help with the evacuation. Get everyone to the boats as fast as you can!" Vetra sighed in relief. "I'm on it!" She said. She then slid off of Toothless' back and dropped to the ground, and started running in the opposite direction of the riders, towards where the Vikings were trying to get away from the invasion. "Okay, Bud." Hiccup said to Toothless, flying after the other riders. "Let's do this. Just like old times now." Toothless nodded at Hiccup, smiling.

"EVERYONE TO THE BOATS!" Vetra shouted, trying to push several of the Vikings in the direction of the docks. "Come on! Lets move it!" She grabbed one woman by the arm and pulled her into the pile. "Come on! You can be hysterical later! Lets move your fat butts out of here!"  
"Hey!" Gobber had heard Vetra's remark. "Sorry, Gobber. Had to be said." Said Vetra, moving the group onward. There was a scream coming from inside a nearby house as another Whispering-Death blasted the upper floor. Vetra turned in horror to see that a little girl was now trapped inside, trying to climb out of a broken window on the first floor. "Lead them on, Gobber!" Vetra ordered. "I'll be right back!" She climbed over an up-turned feeding tub and ran to aid the child stuck in the house.  
The battle in the skys raged on. The young riders, atop their fierce dragons fought ferociously to keep the invaders away from the evacuees. But the number of Whispering-Deaths out-weighed the dragon riders. Stormfly screeched like a wounded eagle as she clawed at one of the many Whispering-Deaths, fighting like mad to throw her off. Another rider, atop a magnificent emerald and gold Deadly Nadder took great pride as she brought down another Whispering-Death with a spine shot to the wing, rendering it unable to fly. Two more riders, both atop a Hideous Zippleback, flew above a group of four more Whispering-Deaths. The rider on the right signaled his head to gas the group bellow, then the rider on the left waited to get clear, before signaling for his head to spark the gas. The gas exploded causing the Whispering-Deaths to roar and fly away into the sky. The two brothers high-fived each other before returning to the battle.  
Meathead was fluttering along with Firestone, doing his best to keep out of the battle, for he preferred to be a pacifist. As he flew, he suddenly found his path blocked by two more Whispering-Deaths. They roared loudly at him, which he and Firestone both returned with high, girly screams. "Now now now, guys." Meathead quivered, trying to reason with the Whispering-Deaths. "Lets be civil about this. Look! I LOVE boulder class dragons! So technically, I-" But the Whispering-Deaths were not listening. One brandished it's tail at him, preparing to strike. "Oh dear." Meathead flipped Firestone around, trying to evade the oncoming attack.  
Lugnut, who was engaged in yet another Whispering-Death, heard Meathead scream and turned her head to see him and Firestone flapping at full speed, perused by the Whispering-Deaths. "Hang tight, we'll be right back." She told her opponent, before turning Dorknob to fly after Meathead. She stood up on Dorknob's back, pulled a large wooden club out from her belt and with a loud yell, swung with surprising strength, considering her size, striking one of the Whispering-Deaths directly on the head. It froze in midair, dazed and confused, then dropped out of the sky towards the ground. The second Whispering-Death, getting the hint, stopped chasing Meathead, and flew away from the battle. "Can't you take care of yourself long enough to survive a simple dragon attack?!" Lugnut called to Meathead, tossing her club into the air, and catching it again. Meathead gave a nervous chuckle. "Thanks for the save." He said, choosing not to answer the question.  
There was a loud, ground shaking explosion as one of the many Whispering-Deaths blew the supports of a lit beacon, splitting it in two, the top, and a large piece of the pole . The beacon and the pole began to fall. Astrid unfortunately had unknowingly just flown Stormfly right under the pole. She looked up just in time for the pole to strike them both in midair. Hiccup watched paralyzed as Astrid and Stormfly plummeted to the ground, crashed in the dirt, and were now pinned under the pole. "ASTRID!" Hiccup brought Toothless down beside Astrid and Stormfly, and both pushed the pole off off them. Stormfly, now a little punch-drunk, clumsily got to her feet, shaking her head. Astrid rolled off her back and was caught by Hiccup. "Are you alright?" Hiccup asked Astrid, setting her back down on her feet. "I'm fine." She said, holding her left arm with her right. "But I think my arm is broken. And Stormfly can't fly anymore in her condition."  
"You've both done all you can." Said Hiccup. Get to the boats, and get to safety. We'll finish up here."  
Meanwhile, Vetra was trying to find a way into the house that the little girl was trapped in. Unfortunately, when the beacon collapsed above the house, it had set it on fire, and Vetra could here the girl screaming and crying inside. Vetra slammed her entire body against the back door of the house, but it did not budge. She rammed it a second time, harder, achieving nothing but a sharp pain in her shoulder. She saw a mace abandoned a foot away, so she picked it up, and, with a yell broke down the door. The moment Vetra climbed through the fragmented door, her lungs seared from the smoke. She could barely see where she was going. All she could do was follow the sound of the child's cries with one hand in front of her. The child was lying on the floor by her bed. Her cries were now weaker, and she was barely moving. Vetra bent down and scooped the child in her arms before racing back for the door. A scorched beam crashed down behind them, narrowly missing Vetra's back. Time was running out. Both girls were coughing uncontrollably, and Vetra was doing her best to keep the child's face covered in her arms. The doorway was still clear. Fresh air was only a few more steps. They were going to make it. There was a crack as the roof in front of the door began to collapse. Vetra only had a split second to make a decision. Save the girl, or trap them both inside. Vetra threw the girl out the door, getting her out just in time. But this meant that, as the supports barricaded the exit, Vetra was now trapped.  
Toothless, who was still helping Hiccup with Astrid, saw what had happened. The little girl landed on her feet, but had fallen over and rolled away from the house, now out of harms way. But, realizing Vetra was far from it, Toothless ran as fast as he could to aid her. "Toothless?!" Hiccup called after him, unaware of the situation.

Vetra was coughing, and pulled her shirt over her face, now trying to find another way out. The house was now crumbling around her, and there was nowhere else to go. There was a bang as Toothless fired a plasma blast to create a patch for him to enter. Vetra dropped to her knees covering her head with her hands, not knowing what had happened. Toothless covered Vetra in his wings, shielding her from the flaming house, crashing around the, burying them both under burnt pieces of wood.  
Hiccup ran up to the wreckage that Toothless and Vetra were now trapped beneath. "TOOTHLESS!" He called out. "VETRA!" He began to pull pieces of the wood out of the pile and threw them aside. Astrid watched helplessly as Hiccup continued to dig. But then, the debris began to glow with a faint, blue light. Hiccup felt the wreckage rumble beneath him, and he knew what was about to happen. "GET BACK!" Hiccup shouted, running out of the way. "EVERYONE GET BACK!" Astrid listened, pulling the girl, with her good arm, away from the danger point. A moment later, the wreckage exploded, sending wood flying into the air like and erupting volcano. In the middle, Toothless shot into the sky, holding Vetra securely in his claws. He then dropped her neatly on the ground with the others, and landed a few feet away. Toothless gave a menacing roar at one of the Whispering-Deaths, which it returned. Toothless prepared to fly after it. "Toothless, wait!" Vetra had run up and, grabbed Toothless' saddle, indicating that she wanted to help. Toothless growled sweetly at her. "It's okay." Said Vetra, smiling at Toothless. "I'm not afraid anymore." Toothless smiled back at Vetra as she climbed on his back. "Now, let's go face our demons together."  
"Hold on, Vetra." Said Hiccup, running up beside her. "Take this." He handed her a sword, tucked neatly inside it's sheath. "It belonged to your grandfather."  
"Thanks, Dad." Said Vetra, taking the sword and strapping it to her belt. "No matter how this ends." She said to Hiccup. "I need you to know that I love you." Hiccup squeezed Vetra's hand. "I love you too." He said. "Now, go get 'em!" Toothless took off with Vetra, heading towards the remaining Whispering-Deaths. "That's my girl." Said Hiccup, watching them as they went.  
"Alright, Vetra!" Said Spikelout, punching the air as Vetra and Toothless joined him, Lugnut and Meathead. "Nice of you to join us." Said Lugnut. "But we got it under control here."  
"Okay then. Take care." Said Vetra, waving goodbye to her. "I'm kidding!" Said Lugnut quickly. "So what's the plan?" Said Meathead. "Here it goes." Said Vetra. "You and Lugnut round up the remaining Whispering-Deaths into one pile for Spikelout and I. Then we'll do the old Plasma Hurricane."  
"Awesome!" Spikelout cheered, agreeing. "Let's do this!"  
The Whispering-Deaths saw the teenagers racing at them and tried to run for it. Several flew back towards the village, but found their path blocked by Firestone, snarling at them with as much menace as he could muster. They tried to fly above him, but one was smacked by an invisible force and dropped out of the sky. The others, not seeing what had hit their comrade, tried to find another means of escape. Dorknob regained visibility to show Lugnut smirking, and tapping her club in her free hand. With the Whispering-Deaths surrounded, Spiral-wing began to spin in a circle, slow at first, but gaining speed with each pass. She created the well-known firey spiral below the Whispering-Deaths. Toothless dove full speed down towards Spiral-wing and the Whispering-Deaths like a hawk dive-bombing it's prey. "Ready? NOW!" When Toothless was just above the sparks Vetra gave the signal. Toothless shot several large plasma shots into Spiral-wing's spinning flames, causing them to explode and shoot in every direction, showering the Whispering-Deaths in the beautiful blue yellow, blue and red flames, like a glorious firework display. Shrieking in fear, the Whispering-Deaths decided that the battle was lost, and flew into the sky, away from Berk. The teens screamed and cheered. Vetra and Spikelout punched each other on the arm. "We did it!" Spikelout shouted. "We won!" But one remained. Vetra recognized the final Whispering-Death as the same one that had been haunting her for ten years. Both she and Toothless had a score to settle. "Leave this to us!" Vetra told the others. "You guys head back. Toothless and I will finish this." Meathead, Lugnut and Spikelout flew away towards the ground. "Okay, Toothless." Said Vetra, flying towards the Whispering-Death. "Let's finish this once and for all!"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter X:

Lightning flashed in the sky, lighting the darkness of the storm momentarily. The Whispering-death found it's path away from Berk blocked by a Nightfury and a teenage girl atop his back. The two dragons hovered in front of each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to react. The Whispering-Death roared menacingly, which Toothless returned, baring his teeth, showing his lack of fear. Vetra fought to keep Toothless' tail study as the force of the wind threatened to blow them both away. The Whispering-Death dove for the ground to make it's escape. Without hesitation, Vetra adjusted Toothless's tail sending into a dive after their opponent, who burrowed through the dirt, creating a hole that Toothless flew into with ease.

Still burrowing it's escape, the Whispering-Death continued to flee with Toothless and Vetra in close pursuit. In an attempt to ward them off, the Whispering-Death fired a spine from behind. Vetra sent Toothless into a barrel-roll to avoid it, then Toothless answered with a plasma blast. It missed the Whispering-Death and hit the dirt wall in front of it, causing a cave in. Before any of them could be buried in the debris, the Whispering-Death burrowed upwards, back towards the surface. "Come on! Faster, Toothless!" Vetra encouraged, as the hole collapsed around them as the tunnel leading up drew closer. "We're gonna make it! Hold on!"

Above the surface, the other Vikings of Berk were surveying the surrounding area, hoping to see where Toothless and Vetra had flown off to. "Do you see them?" Hiccup called, using his hand as a visor to block the rain. Astrid, whose arm had now been bandaged and was looking in the opposite direction of Hiccup. "Nothing." She replied. "Oh, where are they?"

"Dang it, Lugnut!" Said Spikelout angrily, kicking a rock off the ground so it soared through the air and hit an old Viking woman on the head. "I knew we shouldn't have let Vetra go alone!" Spikelout continued, ignoring the woman's shouts of fury. "Hey, don't get mad at me." Said Lugnut. "I was just doing as I was told." Meathead raised an eyebrow. "Since when?" He said to her. Lugnut was saved a response as the ground once again began to shake around the group of Vikings. "Good grief! Now what?!" Spikelout snapped. He didn't wait long to find out as the ground around him and the Vikings began to open up. "MOVE!" Spikelout shouted. Vikings dove in all directions to avoid falling into the pit. Meathead gave a high shriek and, didn't so much as run, as dance, out of harms way. The Whispering-Death exploded out of the hole, still closely pursued by Toothless and Vetra. THERE THEY ARE! THERE THEY ARE!" Several of the Vikings shouted, many more applauded and lcheered. Hiccup watched mesmerized as he watched his daughter, and his best friend gave chase.

Toothless shot another plasma blast as she followed the Whispering-Death higher and higher into the clouds. This time, it stuck the Whispering-Death on the head. It spun around and gave a terrible shrieking roar. Toothless only hissed at it. At that moment, though, the sun poked it's way through the darkness of the rain clouds, bring a beam of brilliant light with it. The Whispering-Death vanished into the clouds. Breathing heavily, Vetra looked in all directions to see where the Whispering-Death had gone to. "Maybe it has given up." Vetra said. "Well, that wasn't to difficult." The sun vanished back behind the clouds. Immediately, the Whispering-Death dove out of it's hiding spot and down towards Toothless. "Look out!" Vetra pull Toothless out of the way, but grazed her back with a sharp spine. It swung back around and spat fire this time. Toothless dove down and swooped back up, firing more plasma blasts. Dodging them, the Whispering-Death lashed it's tail like a whip, releasing several more spines. Toothless shot a plasma blast at each one, destroying them. The sky was now obscured by the combination of smoke and rain, making it impossible for Toothless and Vetra to see. As the smaug cleared, Vetra saw that the Whispering-Death was once again out of sight. It reappeared once again, this time, attacking from below. Vetra jerked as the Whispering-Death rammed into Toothless. Now on top of the Whispering-Death, Toothless thrashed and snapped, fighting the Whispering-Death off, which was trying to bite Toothless. If this goal was achieved, Vetra knew that she and Toothless would both be shredded. But as Toothless continued to fight off the Whispering-Death, Vetra suddenly found herself to be dangling off of Toothless' back, hanging by one hand clutching the saddle. Vetra lost her grip, and found herself dropping to the ground. She landed with a grunt atop a rock formation only a few feet from where she fell. The Whispering-Death threw Toothless away from him, who, with the help of his new tail, continued to fly on his own. Changing course now, the Whispering-Death flew at Vetra, who gasped in fear. But it only took her a moment to realise that she was not frozen in fear. She still had complete control of her body. Toothless roared warningly, racing the Whispering-Death to get to Vetra first. Vetra knew Toothless wouldn't making, but that was fine her. She firmly gripped the hilt of the sword that once belonged to Stoik the Vast, still in it's sheath. She waited until the Whispering-Death was only meters away, so she could see the rows of razor-sharp teeth, preparing to shred her. And then. SLASH! She removed the sword with such ferocity, that made a long, deep cut on the Whispering-Death's head. Backing off, it roared unlike anything Vetra had ever heard. It advanced on her again, but Toothless slammed his whole body into the Whispering-Death, and fired a plasma blast straight into it's mouth. With a loud shout, Vetra threw the sword at the dragon, impaling it right between the wings. Toothless back off as the Whispering-Death began to fall, defeated at last. It hit the rock formation that Vetra was on, knocking it unstable. As it began to crumble and collapse, Vetra ran for the edge and dove off. Toothless caught her just as the formation crashed to Earth, creating a thick cloud of dust.

The rain was falling much softer now, as Toothless touched down. Vetra slid off his back and dusted herself off. "It's over." She said in a quiet, cracked voice. "We finally did it." She walked over and picked up her sword, which was half buried under the debris and sheathed it. Next to it, was a single spine from Vetra's long-feared enemy. But the fear was gone now. Vetra surveyed the area, and recognized where they were. The cove! How fitting was it, that THIS would be where the Whispering-Death would make it's last stand? Toothless walked with Vetra to a small hole in the middle of a pile of rocks. Vetra couldn't believe that she once could fit in there. Taking the spine in her hand, Vetra struck it into the dirt, so it stood upright on it's own. "This is for you, Askle." She said. "Now you can finally be at peace. WE can be at peace."

Vetra heard her name. She slowly turned around to see Hiccup rushing through the trees in front of him. Smiling at her father, Vetra ran after him, laughing loudly. She threw herself into Hiccup's arms, who spun her pin a circle before setting her down. Toothless knocked both Hiccup and Vetra over, wanting to join in the celebration. Vetra then saw that Hiccup had been followed closely by Astrid, Spikelout, Lugnut, Meathead, and the other Vikings. Vetra got to her feet and embraced her mother, who sobbed with laughter. Vetra then hugged each of her friends and received cheers and applause from the rest. Smiling at Hiccup, she spoke. "I don't know about you." Said Vetra. "But I'm exhausted. What do you say we go home?"

"I think that's a great idea." Hiccup answered, smiling back. He put one arm around Vetra's waist, the other around Astrid's and made to leave the cove, Toothless bouncing along behind them. The Vikings cheered as the made their way back to Berk, all deep in discussion on what had happened. The story of Vetrarose Horrendous Haddock and the Whispering-Deaths was one that would be told for generations to come.

At last! Finished at last! I hope that was a satisfying ending. Hope to here from you all again soon!


End file.
